Horror

The Forbidden Play

禁じられた遊び

Directed by: Hideo Nakata
2023 / 110 minutes / Unclassified 15+

An unforgiving poison stains the world of the living

When beloved wife and mother Miyuki passes away, her little son Haruto buries one of her fingers in the backyard she cherished dearly, hoping to bring her back to life. As father Naoto watches Haruto chant a resurrection spell, he can hardly bear to tell him there’s no way to bring his mother back. But little does Naoto know, as Haruto repeats his chants daily, something evil is pulsing underground… How could Miyuki ever rest in peace when Naoto turned his back on a family promise?  

The Forbidden Play is the film adaptation of the 2019 novel of the same name, written by Karuma Shimizu. Director Hideo Nakata, renowned worldwide for the cultural phenomenon Ring (1998), playfully concocts a mixture of Hollywood and J-horror tropes, creating an unforgettable yet unexpected antagonist who defies the laws of nature. Make way for backyard abomination Miyuki as she crawls through!

Post-Film Talk Event

Teasing Out Literary and Folkloric Traditions in The Forbidden Play

Dr Lucy Fraser (The University of Queensland) will discuss some of the literary and folkloric sources of the film’s hauntings and supernatural figures, including the long hair so often seen on ghostly women, and explore how the film evokes these traditions through the lens of current social issues in Japan concerning gender, family and religion.

Details

Venue: Palace Barracks, Brisbane
Date: 21 October, 2023 (Sat)
Screening: 14:30 – 16:20
Talk: 16:20 – 16:50